


Death By Secrets

by VincentMeoblinn



Category: NCIS
Genre: Angst, M/M, Murder, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-03-24 19:01:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3780841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VincentMeoblinn/pseuds/VincentMeoblinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony's attempted suicide appears to be connected to the suicide of a marine... who bears a shocking resemblance to Gibbs. However, both appear to be something else. Perhaps someone else is to blame?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Jimmy Palmer walked into the morgue whistling the song that had been playing on his radio on the way into work. He flicked on the lights and headed straight for the wall of units to pull out their first patient, scooping up the clipboard Ducky’s desk as he went. He glanced over the list and saw it was patient 3B who needed to have his autopsy today. He opened the door and pulled the cadaver out, and froze in horror. There was a body lying on the slab in the middle of the room, tools set out around itAnthony DiNozzo was laying on the slab and white mist was flowing out around him.

“Oh no,” Jimmy groaned, “Not _this_ dream again!”

Then the eyes flickered open and he sighed, rubbing at his face, “Wake up, Jimmy. Wake up.”

“Put me back,” A wretched, wheezing voice hissed at him, “I’m not dead yet.”

“Yeah, okay,” Jimmy sighed, and pushed the door shut. The mist drifted off along the floor and Jimmy stood there in confusion, waiting to wake up or for all the bodies to start crawling out of their units. Neither happened and Jimmy’s heart began to race in horror. He pulled 3B open again and checked DiNozzo for a pulse. It was weak and as he stood over him trying to figure out where the mist was coming from he realized there was a block of dry ice at his feet.

He checked the man over to see if he was tied down, but apparently he wasn’t restrained in any way. Instead he was simply laying there beneath a sheet which covered his… nudity?

“Okay. Um. Okay. Don’t panic Tony,” Jimmy squeaked in horror, “We have an oxygen max- I mean mask- in here somewhere and… and… and…  I know! I’ll call Doctor Mallard!”

“No…” Tony wheezed, and put a weak arm out to stop him. Jimmy didn’t listen so Tony struggled off of the rollaway table, toppled to the floor, and tried to stumble after him. The end result was a horrific coughing fit and then he vomited onto the floor.

“Doctor Mallard, it’s Jimmy,” Jimmy stammered into the phone, “Someone locked Tony in a refridgeration unit with a block of dry ice! He’s really sick and…”

An hour later, after Jimmy had practically sat on Tony to force the man to accept oxygen until Ducky arrived, the distressed ME finally allowed Gibbs to approach. McGee was on his way to Tony’s apartment to get him some clothes and check for a primary crime scene. Ziva was going through the neatly folded pile of Tony’s clothes. There was no sign of a struggle and Tony had no defensive wounds, but Ducky had drawn blood so they’d figure that out in short order.

“Tony, what happened?” Gibbs asked, putting his hand on the shaky younger man’s bare shoulder.

Tony’s response was a subtle shake of his head.

“I think you had better read this, Gibbs,” Ziva stated, holding up a piece of paper she’d found in Tony’s pants pocket.

“Letter from the wanna-be killers?” Gibbs asked with narrowed eyes.

“It appears to be a suicide note,” Ziva replied, “In Tony’s handwriting.”

“Bag it and tag it,” Gibbs replied, then looked back down at Tony, “Can you describe them, Tony? Who made you write that?”

“I really think you should read this, Gibbs,” Ziva stressed.

“I’m not reading some damn suicide note!” Gibbs shouted at her, making everyone in the room jump, “If Tony really did this- _and I mean if-_ than he’ll tell me himself!”

“His throat may be too raw at the moment,” Ducky replied sadly, “Perhaps some honey and tea will-“

“Someone _did_ make him, according to this,” Ziva stated, “But he does not specify who.”

That sealed it for Gibbs and he walked over to snap on gloves and snatch the letter from her hands.

_“Dear Ducky,_

_I apologize for the rude awakening. At least you won’t need any tea today cause this should wake you right up._ Not funny, DiNozzo! _I wish I could tell you that this was something interesting so you could tell people about it some day, but I’m afraid it’s just your garden-variety suicide. For the record, it’s nothing to do with the job or anything, so let everyone- especially McGee- know that this isn’t their fault. I’ve been hiding some serious pain for a while now and someone made me face it last night. I decided it was time to end things. I’m tired of running from job to job to keep my secrets. I’m just plain worn out._

_Tell Gibbs that tonight I will look up at the moon; and I will know that somewhere he is looking at it too._

_Anthony DiNozzo Jr._

What the hell is this, DiNozzo?!” Gibbs raged, slamming it down on Ducky’s desk.

“Sorry Boss,” DiNozzo wheezed, his voice nearly a whistle.

“You’re _sorry?_ Sorry doesn’t cut it, DiNozzo!” Gibb shouted.

“Jethro,” Ducky stated softly, reaching out to stop him from storming back over to the sullen man, “I realize that you’re upset, and I am too, but do you really think this will help matters? Anthony needs to see a therapist, not get chewed out by his boss.”

“I hate therapists,” Gibbs growled.

“It’s not for _you_ ,” Ducky chuckled, “It’s for _him.”_

“What I don’t understand,” Ducky sighed, walking over to Tony to check his bloodpressure and the colour of his lips again, “Is why you felt the need to put dry ice in there? The refrigeration unites are airtight.”

“Because,” Gibbs snarled, “He didn’t want to die _slowly_. Also he knew he had a time limit since he altered your records for today’s autopsy.”

“Ah,” Ducky nodded, “I see. Perhaps his delay was a cry for help?”

“I doubt it,” Gibbs grunted.

“Well, you chose a poor method, my dear boy,” Ducky told him, “Dry ice is made up of carbon _di_ oxide. Carbon _mon_ oxide is the substance that lulls one into the eternal sleep. Had you been in there for much longer you’d have suffered tachycardia, cardiac arrhythmias, lost consciousness, then perhaps gone into convulsions, before dying in rather a lot of pain.”

“Oh,” Tony wheezed out.

“As it is we’ll be sending you to the hospital for those ice burns on your feet,” Ducky told him, “If you’re lucky they won’t need to do a skin graft.”

Gibbs growled, “This isn’t right. Don’t you see that, Ducky? Tony wouldn’t just off himself. He _wouldn’t_. Something caused this and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”

Gibbs turned to storm out of the morgue dramatically but his phone went off halfway there, he pulled it out and put it to his ear. He paused a moment and then turned with a sigh, “Ziva, leave that for McGee. We’ve got a possible case. Ducky, follow us after Tony’s ambulance arrives.”

“Possible?” Ziva asked, stopping what she was doing to hurry over.

“Yeah,” Gibbs glanced at Tony suspiciously, “A marine was just found dead with his head in a box… of dry ice.”


	2. Chapter 2

“He looks an awful lot like you,” Ziva stated softly.

“Uh-huh,” Gibbs replied, staring down at the body before him.

“He’s a marine.”

“Yup. A dead one,” Gibbs stated dryly.

“And he has some very… interesting tastes,” Ziva nodded to a boat picture on the wall, “Want to bet he showed those to Tony?”

“You’re assuming, Agent David,” Gibbs said softly, “You know what I think about assuming.”

“Rule Number 8,” Ziva sighed, “Never assume.”

“And never take anything for granted,” Gibbs growled, “We nearly lost Tony today. I want to know why and I want his reason eliminated.”

“Eliminated… how?” Ziva asked, her eyes narrowing and one eyebrow raising as a look of intrigue crossed her face.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Gibbs replied.

XXX

Once he got his voice back Tony refused to admit himself into the hospital, telling the doctors there that it was a prank gone wrong. He checked himself out of the hospital after a whopping six hours and headed straight for home where he physically tossed McGee out of his place without a single word. McGee banged on his door, shouting frantically and begging Tony not to kill himself. What actually stopped Tony from eating his gun, however, was his threat to call Gibbs.

_Not funny, DiNozzo!_

Gibbs had actually looked upset. Distressed even. Tony sat on his couch staring at his handgun and listening to McGee as he reached teary-eyed levels. He couldn’t stop playing Gibbs’ reaction to Kate’s death through his head and was beginning to feel sick. How could he have _done_ that to his co-workers? _Again_?

Tony dragged himself upright and headed for the door, pulling it open to face a tear-streaked Timothy McGee.

“Oh, thank gods,” McGee gripped his shoulders, a look of relief on his face, “Gimme your gun.”

Tony handed it over wordlessly, and allowed McGee to hug him despite the fact he was trying _very_ hard not to throw up.

“Okay,” McGee stepped back, “Um. Sorry.”

“Yeah, you should be,” Tony grumbled.

“Damn it, Tony!” McGee snapped, and slapped the back of his head Gibbs-style, “What the hell were you thinking?! I just left the hospital and-“

Tony slapped McGee’s head back, “Shut up, Probie! You’ve got no fucking clue!”

“Because you haven’t told us!” McGee shouted back, and delivered him another slap.

“Ow! Stop hitting me!” Tony smacked McGee back, “I’m not _going_ to tell you! It’s none of your damn business!”

“You tried to kill yourself at our workplace, in Ducky’s morgue, with dry ice from Abby’s lab! You don’t get to go all Gibbs on us!” McGee tried to slap him again, but Tony blocked it.

“Go all Gibbs on you? What does that even _mean_ in this context?!” Tony shouted back, waving his hands as they smacked at each other.

“All cold and silent and-“ McGee stopped flailing and dropped silent, his eyes wide and his face going pale.

Tony drew back into his apartment, rubbing at his hair in anxiety.

“Okay,” Tony turned back, “Look, you just… have to solve the case, okay?”

“Solve the case? The marine? So it _is_ related to why you tried to off yourself?”

“Of course it’s related!” Gibbs snarled, coming up the steps, “Why do you think Tony changed his plans to toss in a damn block of dry ice! He wasn’t _planning_ on it, which is why he didn’t have his shoes on. He found out Lieutenant Cornwall killed himself using a block of dry ice and wanted to send us a message.”

“What message?” McGee asked.

“That there are other bodies,” Gibbs stated, staring Tony down over McGee’s shoulder, “Other suicides that _aren’t_ suicides. Other suicides that are murders. Right Tony?”

Tony gave Gibbs a miserable look and turned away, walking over to his couch and throwing himself down on his back. He rubbed at his face in misery but didn’t reply.

“They threaten you?” Gibbs asked, walking into the apartment behind McGee and shutting the door, “Threaten us? Threaten your father? I find it strange you didn’t mention him in your suicide note, he being your last living relative and all.”

“I’m not talking,” Tony sighed, “Arrest me or get out.”

“Okay,” Gibbs nodded reasonably, “McGee, cuff him.”

XXX

Tony sat silently at his desk, sipping on his bottle of water and staring silently off into space. He was cuffed to his chair by his left hand. Gibbs seemed to think it was funny. He hadn’t been charged, but Gibbs was making it clear that he considered Tony to be holding up their investigation and that he was furious with him for it. That being said he had yet to smack him and Tony was clearly feeling the tension, twitching every time Gibbs walked passed him.

“Okay,” McGee spoke up, “I’ve got info on Lt. Cornwall up, but I don’t see anything shady. Nothing wrong with his finances, no secret e-mails from girlfriends, he doesn’t even have a social profile.”

“Just because a guy isn’t out getting hanky-panky every night like DiNozzo doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a social life,” Gibbs frowned.

“Ah, no Boss,” McGee gave him a tight lipped smile, “I mean an online social networking site.”

“So check for offline ones!” Gibbs snarled.

“On it, Boss,” McGee replied.

“You wanna contribute something, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, watching as Tony began to sweat a bit.

“No, Boss,” Tony replied.

“ _Am_ I still your boss?” Gibbs asked, “You’re awfully quiet for someone taking my orders.”

“Sorry, Boss,” Tony replied, “I have my reasons.”

“You want to share them?” Gibbs asked.

“No, Boss. Sorry, Boss,” Tony replied miserably.

“Sign of weakness,” Gibbs grunted, standing up and heading to Ziva’s desk, “What have you got? Hm?”

 

“Nothing! I have found three hundred and twenty-three suicides in the last year! Twelve of them by people in various branches of the military! None of them are either suspicious or _not_ suspicious, not that I understand what you meant by ‘look for suicides that weren’t suspicious’,” Ziva did a deep voiced impression of Gibbs towards the end.

“That doesn’t sound like nothing,” Gibbs replied.

“No, you are right,” Ziva snarled, “It is _everything_. I need some way to narrow this down!”

“Disregard the twelve,” Gibbs stated firmly.

“We are NCIS. Why are we looking at _non_ -military suicides?”

“Because I don’t believe this is restricted to military,” Gibbs replied, “In fact, I think this is the first time it’s stepped into our area. Otherwise we’d have caught it before now.”

“Because we investigate all suicides as murders,” Ziva realized, “However, the police do not. Not if they do not find them suspicious. So we are looking for suicides that are suspicious to _us_ but not to others.”

“Exactly. So get on that.”

“I… I have no idea how to get on that,” Ziva replied, “I have over two hundred of them!”

“I suggest you get cracking,” Gibbs replied, “Toss me half.”

“You… you’re working?” Tony asked in shock.

“Oh, _now_ you got something to say, Tony?” Gibbs snapped.

“Not that you don’t work, because you do, it’s just that you work as an administrator, and what an administrator you are, I mean, just look at you… administrate,” Tony babbled.

Gibbs shook his head in disgust and headed to the printer to pick up the second half of Ziva’s list.

XXX

The end of the night shift came and went, but when Tony started to doze at his desk Gibbs surprisingly stopped work and sent everyone home. He uncuffed Tony from the chair and snapped the cuff onto his own wrist.

“I think you should buy me dinner first,” Tony stated in a raspy voice.

“Your throat sore again, Tony?” Gibbs asked, heading for the elevator and tugging Tony along.

“Um… yes.”

They drove back to Gibbs’ place in silence, Tony gripping the panic bar as usual with his free hand. He offered twice to fish the key out of Gibbs’ pocket and give him the use of his right hand, but the man never replied. He dragged Tony out of the car the same way he put him in, through the driver’s side, and walked him up to his own home. Gibbs never locked his door so he just walked in, dragging Tony into the house and to the bathroom on the second floor.

“Spare toothbrush,” Gibbs stated, pulling open the cabinet and indicating a toothbrush in its packaging, “Mouthwash. I use the lid. You need the head?”

“After that ride? Yeah.”

“Good,” Gibbs replied, “Me too.”

He dragged Tony over to the toilet, pulled up the lid, and started to work his fly open one-handed.

“We… we’re going to pee together?” Tony stammered.

Gibbs didn’t reply so Tony started struggling with his own trousers, assuming that if he didn’t pee now he’d be told to hold it later. Gibbs was like that. Tony had to close his eyes after aiming in order to focus on pissing, but he managed it and didn’t fumble the shake at the end. He couldn’t manage to zip up, but he did get his dick back in his underwear and the button on his fly done. They washed up, sharing the sink while hip to hip, and then headed for the bedroom. There Gibbs kicked off his shoes and took down his trousers.

“What, no shower?” Tony teased.

“In a minute,” Gibbs replied, “I want clean clothes first.”

Tony swallowed hard while Gibbs dragged him over to the chest of drawers, dug out a two shirts and two pairs of boxers, picked up a couple of towels, and headed into the bathroom again. Tony was sweating by the time Gibbs fished out the key from the pocket of his blazer and undid the cuffs.

“Strip,” Gibbs ordered.

Tony rushed to obey, but at the same time he was shaking. He had to stop this from happening, but that didn’t stop his cock from hardening painfully fast. Gibbs seemed unaware of the erection that was solely meant for him.

“Boss,” Tony stammered, hesitating with only his boxers on, “Maybe I should wait. You could cuff me to something or…”

“You’re showering,” Gibbs replied, “You stink. Smell like chemicals.”

“Yeah, okay. So if you clear out all the dangerous things- or I could- then maybe…”

“Nope,” Gibbs stated firmly.

“So we’re at least showering separately, right?” Tony asked, annoyed at the squeak in his voice.

“Yup,” Gibbs stated.

Tony wasn’t sure if he felt relieved or disappointed, but his erection hadn’t gotten the memo about no impending sex yet.

“Ummm… See, the thing is that… near death experiences. They do this _thing_ to the human mind and body. They leave you feeling alive and… and… _sensitized_.”

“I can see your hard-on from here, DiNozzo. It’ll go away on its own.”

“Right,” Tony sighed, and climbed into the shower. He went to close the curtain but Gibbs stopped him.

“Suicide watch. If you’d stayed at the hospital a _nurse_ would be watching you shower.”

“Not helping the wood, Gibbs.”

“Just point the shower head to the wall and wash up, DiNozzo,” Gibbs snarled, “Do it fast.”

Tony climbed in while Gibbs stood leaning against the door watching him. He kept his back to him for the most part, but even the chill wasn’t helping him out. He stayed half-hard the entire time and Gibbs remained stoically silent despite his jokes about the view. Tony hurried to climb out and dry off, nearly falling in his attempt to keep his back to Gibbs. Finally he was dry and stepped aside. Gibbs then finished stripping his own clothes off, eased passed Tony, cuffed him to the radiator, and stepped into the shower. He also kept the curtains open, but he didn’t try to face away from Tony. He kept glancing at him as he washed, watching Tony more than what he was doing. He washed up quickly and efficiently while Tony tried _not_ to stare at Gibbs’ junk. He failed. Gibbs was rock hard and Tony had to use every ounce of his willpower to not whimper.

Finally he stepped out of the shower, toweled off, and headed for Tony. Tony’s entire body went stiff and his cock shifted the towel open. He winced as it hung off his dick and quickly salvaged it. Gibbs uncuffed him while their eyes locked and Tony did everything he could to hold his breathing steady. Gibbs snapped the cuff back on his wrist and hauled Tony back to his room.

“Hope you don’t mind the right side of the bed,” Gibbs stated.

Tony didn’t respond. He didn’t trust his voice. Gibbs moved to climb onto the bed backwards so they could both shift onto it, but Tony paled and tugged.

“I’d rather sleep on the couch. You can cuff me to something.”

“Nope.”

“Yes.”

“You’re sleeping right here,” Gibbs stated.

“I’m uncomfortable sleeping with you, _Agent Gibbs,_ ” Tony stated firmly, “I’m alarmed that you’d attempt to force me to, especially in this state of mutual undress.”

“You seriously hinting at sexual harassment?” Gibbs chuckled.

“Yes,” Tony stated firmly.

“You’re still hard,” Gibbs replied.

“An erection doesn’t indicate consent,” Tony stated firmly.

“You telling me _no_ , DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, stepping closer to Tony until they were nearly nose to nose.

“Are you pressuring me to have sex with you?” DiNozzo asked.

“No,” Gibbs stated, “I’m pressuring you to sleep in the same bed with me. I’d _like_ to have sex with you. In fact, you’d like to have sex with me. There’s every indication of that based on your suicide note. Seriously? Did you think I hadn’t watched a movie named _Dear John_?”

“I’d… hoped,” Tony blushed.

“And that marine. Dead ringer for me. Did he show you pictures of his boat? I bet he did. If there aren’t pictures of you out there than I’m a monkey’s uncle. Do I look like a monkey to you, Tony?”

“No Boss, you look like a silver fox.”

“So the thing is,” Gibbs replied, “If you were willing to risk me finding out you had a thing for me after your death, why aren’t you climbing into that bed like you won the lottery?”

Tony swallowed hard and looked towards the windows anxiously.

“No one’s watching us, Tony. No one’s listening. It’s just us. What’s he got on you, Tony? What besides your crush on me?”

“It’s not a crush,” Tony said softly, his voice a defensive whisper.

“You wanna give me a clue?”

“No, Boss.”

“Last chance, Tony. You let me in I’ll let you in,” Gibbs nodded towards the bed.

Tony couldn’t wipe the grin off of his face, “You’re offering me sex in exchange for me telling you what they’ve got on me?”

“No,” Gibbs replied, “The sex is happening regardless. I’m offering you a _relationship_ in return for your cooperation with this investigation, and I meant it when I said _last chance._ Make your decision.”

Tony closed his eyes, pain tearing at his heart, “No dice, Boss.”

Gibbs sighed, “Pity. It’ll dull the mood but…”

“No sex, either,” Tony replied, forcing his eyes open, “Uncuff me. I mean it. It’s rape if you continue.”

Gibbs looked taken aback and Tony’s lip quirked at that small victory. Gibbs walked him over to his jacket again, pulled out the key, and uncuffed his end of the lock. He walked Tony downstairs in silence, a clearly confused look plastered to his face. It felt a bit good to actually surprise and confuse the older man. He usually only got that look on his face when confronted with technology. Gibbs pulled the cushions off the couch, tossed them down on the floor beside the radiator, and pointed to them. Tony laid down and cuffed himself to the radiator at a comfortable level. Gibbs tested the cuff, kneeling beside him as he did so, and then threw a blanket over him. Tony noted that both their erections were finally gone. Gibbs hesitated at the bottom of the stairs, giving Tony a slightly hurt look.

“I wouldn’t have _forced_ you, Tony. That wasn’t what I meant when I said it was happening.”

“I know, Boss,” Tony replied softly, “But I _did_ mean stop.”

“Duly noted,” Gibbs nodded, frowning a bit, “It won’t happen again.”

“Thanks, Boss,” Tony replied.

Gibbs shut off the lights and started up the steps, “If you need me, shout.”

Tony waited until the light from Gibbs’ bedroom door was extinguished and then laid his free hand over his mouth to silence his sobs.


	3. Chapter 3

The next day they picked up where they left off. By noon they had a long list of ‘suicide’ victims that had never had a history of depression or anxiety yet had inexplicably committed suicide. They were in the ‘not suspicious’ pile per the police because there was no way they _hadn’t_ killed themselves. Some had been _very_ public. Yet further scrutinization showed a very frightening growing trend.

“So here we have Isabel Cortez,” Ziva brought her up on the screen, “Who jumped off of the roof of her six story apartment building. No history of depression or anxiety. No recent unemployment. We dug through her financials and found a second account primarily used to visit hotels. We have no further proof of an affair, but it was going back years so clearly she’s keeping secrets.”

“Alfred Gomez,” Gibbs stated, bringing up another image, “Had a gamboling problem ten years ago but his friends say that he’d successfully hidden from his bookie for _years_. He shot himself in the head out of the blue. And there are dozens more like them.”

“Here’s where it gets hairy,” McGee stated with a wide grin, “Lt. Jeremy Cornwall. Career Marine. Twenty-five years in. We already know how he died. What we _didn’t_ know, was his connection to one Special Agent Tony DiNozzo.”

“Get to the point, McGee,” Gibbs growled.

“Um… well, we still don’t know, but I _did_ connect _him_ to Alfred Gomez. They played cards at the same joint. No money exchanged in that one so no motive to each other.”

“Okay, that’s a start. Is Gomez connected to Tony?” Ziva asked.

“Nope,” McGee grinned.

“Then why is that stupid grin on your face?” Gibbs snarled.

“Because he _is_ connected to Abigail Franklin, who is connected to Maria Suarez, who is connected to Isabel Cortez.”

“They’re _all_ connected?” Ziva gaped, “How is this possible?”

“Degrees of separation,” McGee replied, “If you start asking you’ll find connections to people that you don’t know _everywhere_. It was just a matter of time before this guy got on our radar. In fact it’s surprising he hasn’t until now, but not a shock that he chose an agent to go after. How best to handicap us than by taking out one of our best?”

“Aww, thanks, Probie!” Tony grinned.

McGee nodded but didn’t quite meet his eyes, “So… the thing is… I still don’t know what Cornwall was being blackmailed with. That is still the only leading theory?”

“Yeah, it’s what’s going on,” Gibbs sighed, “And whatever he was doing that he didn’t want made known, our selectively mute Tony got mixed up in.”

“I prefer the term contrary,” Ziva grumbled, folding her arms, “I still say if you give me twenty minutes alone with Tony I could…”

“Times up,” Tony stated suddenly, and then stared down at his desk phone with a grim look on his face.

Gibbs headed over to intercept it, but the second it rang Tony grabbed it and bolted under his desk.

“I didn’t tell them!” Tony shouted, “No one knows! It’s not my fault they stopped me from-“

Gibbs yanked the phone out of Tony’s hand, “This is Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. You want to blackmail someone you come after me!”

Silence. Gibbs snarled and slammed the phone down.

“What did he say?” Ziva asked.

 _“She_ said ‘done’ and then hung up the phone!”

Tony crawled out from under the desk, “You have no idea what you’ve just done.”

“Yeah,” Gibbs grinned, “I do. I just put the ball in our court.”

Gibbs’ phone went off and he walked over to it, clicking it on speaker.

“You’ve got Special Agent in Charge Leroy Jethro Gibbs. NCIS: MCRT.”

“You will want to take me off of speaker phone, Agent Gibbs.”

“Not really.”

“Did Tony not tell you my rule? I have rules too, you know.”

“Rules are good,” Gibbs replied, “It’s laws that get sticky.”

“Rule number one is that anyone who you tell gets a call from me. I consider what you are doing now to be informing them. Do you really want to involve Ziva, Tim, and Jimmy in this?”

Gibbs paused in confusion, his answer on his lips, and then lifted his head. Jimmy Palmer was just walking out of the elevator. Ziva bolted for her desk and unlocked her gun, McGee took a moment longer to catch on but then he had his out as well and they both converged on Gibbs to place their backs to his.

“Oh dear,” The woman’s voice stated, “So paranoid. That won’t help you because I’m not in the building.”

“Then you’re spying with cameras,” McGee stated, “Either something you planted or through our own systems.”

“Very good Agent McGee. I repeat, Agent Gibbs. Do you want to involve them?”

“They know the risks,” Gibbs stated.

“I don’t know the risks,” Jimmy squeaked, raising his hand weakly.

“Then I suggest you go use the head,” Gibbs snarled.

Palmer ran for the elevator, leaving the group the only ones in earshot since most of the office was out to lunch.

“Still comfortable, Jethro?” She laughed, “May I call you Jethro?”

“You may not,” Gibbs replied.

“Very well, Agent Gibbs. One moment,” They heard distinct sound of a file cabinet being opened and then paper ruffling, “I have three files in front of me now. Let’s start with the most amusing. Special Agent McGee, I see here that you have _quite_ the interesting taste in women! Not to mention you’re not above paying for-“

McGee bolted for the phone, switching it off of speaker and bolting out of Gibbs’ reach.

“Damn it, McGee! We let it stay secret we give her the power!” Gibbs snarled, approaching him. He backed off when Mcgee anxiously waived his gun around.

“I’m okay with that, Boss,” McGee replied, his face white and hand shaking, his eyes darted to one side and Gibbs paused as he realized she was speaking, “Yes, Ma’am. No, Ma’am. I understand. I just… isn’t there any other way to work this out? I have some money put away and-“

“McGee!” Gibbs shouted angrily.

McGee held up a finger, and nodded absently, “Yes, Ma’am. Thank you. Here he is.”

McGee held out one shaking hand, “Sh-she wants to talk to you.”

Gibbs glared at him as he took the phone, glancing over to see Tony simply watching them in miserable silence. Ziva looked angry, but that was to be expected. She also looked defiant. Gibbs took that as a go and put it on speaker again.

“Go ahead Miss...?”

“North,” She replied, “Ms. North.”

“Miss North,” Gibbs stated with a false smile, “What can I do for you?”

“It’s more what you can do for me. As I’m sure your resident profiler has figured out, I get off on making people kill themselves. I’m a serial killer… but in typical female fashion I don’t get my hands dirty.”

“Stereotypes are ridiculous,” Ziva snarled.

“A perfect segue into my next topic, Ziva! Thank you!” Miss North replied cheerily, “I see here that you were born with…”

She paused but Ziva lifted her chin, “Go on. Tell them. I am not ashamed.”

“Male genitalia.”

“I knew it,” McGee stated solemnly.

“Shut up!” Ziva snarled, “My parents had them removed! I didn’t even require hormone treatment. I _am_ a woman!”

“Keep saying that, Ziva,” She laughed, “Maybe they’ll believe you someday. Or they won’t… not when they receive the records.”

“Records? What records? There are no records,” Ziva snarled, leaning over the desk and practically spitting on the phone in outrage.

“There are _always_ records when you know the right people,” She laughed, “Now on to Agent Gibbs before I discuss your terms. Agent Gibbs. I’ve found a body, Agent Gibbs.”

“Oh really?” Gibbs scoffed, “Should we send a team over?”

“With a bullet wound.”

“Uh-huh, go on. I’m taking notes,” Gibbs mocked.

“In his head.”

“Yeah?”

“From a sniper.”

“You keep pausing, but I write a lot faster than that.”

“From a Kate.”

“Got that.”

“In Mexico.”

“Nice place, Mexico.”

“Which I can send to Abigail Sciuto.”

“Actually, Dr. Mallard handles bodies and Abby does evidence, but you send it on in and we’ll sort it out,” Gibbs responded in the tone of voice of a long-time sales rep, prompting Ziva and McGee to giggle a bit.

“Very well, then allow me to move on to Part II. In order to avoid ruining your lives and careers you have two options. Kill yourself in a way that leaves no suspicion or confess your wrongdoings to those that they affect. For Agent David, that would be the young man she is currently courting and all of her past lovers. He is _very_ orthodox, isn’t he?”

“You _bitch_ ,” Ziva hissed.

“And _such_ a nice ass…” She continued, “For Agent Gibbs that would mean turning himself in to the Mexican authorities for murder. I should note, that if you chose to turn yourselves in I will go after no less than _two_ people you care about. Should you choose to kill yourself I will choose another victim you do not have a close connection with and move on. You have until thirteen hundred hours tomorrow.”

With that she disconnected and Gibbs let out a huff of disgust as he turned to the screen behind him, “Where is she McGee?”

McGee straightened up from his computer, “You’re not going to like this boss.”

“Where? Is? She?”

“According to the trace… she’s calling from Tony’s phone.”

Tony snorted.

“You on board yet?” Gibbs asked him with narrowed eyes.

“Yeah,” Tony replied miserably, “I’m sorry, Boss.”

“Rule six!” Gibbs snarled, then turned to berate him further when the director’s voice boomed down at them.

“ANTHONY DINOZZO!” Director Jenny Shepherd came stomping down the steps, “What the HELL is the meaning of this?!”

“Last chance, Tony,” Gibbs stated loudly.

Tony shook his head.

“You’re still staying quiet?” Gibbs asked him in obvious surprise, “This is your chance to end this on _your_ terms.”

Tony closed his eyes and shook his head, swallowing hard twice before replying, “These aren’t _my_ terms and if I can’t do this on _my_ terms I’m not doing it at all.”

“You better be talking about how you’re going to explain this to HR, DiNozzo!” Jenny snarled.

The mailperson was going around as they spoke, but the only thing on her cart was a mass of large, yellow envelopes. Letterhead size. She was being followed by a second cart with their regular mail since Tony’s blackmail apparently took up an _entire_ cart.

“Geezus,” McGee breathed, “She really goes all out, doesn’t she?”

“Enough for you to kill yourself over a prostitute?” Gibbs asked him.

“It wasn’t a prostitute!” McGee’s voice cracked.

“What the HELL is going on?!” Jenny shouted.

“This doesn’t have to do with the plague, does it?” McGee asked in horror as an envelope was dropped on each of their desks.

“Hey now,” The mailperson frowned at them, “That wasn’t our faults. Abby told me about the lipstick-“

Gibbs picked up the big envelope and interrupted the woman, “How many of these have you delivered, and to whom?”

The mailperson paled, “Everyone. I work my way from the mail room to the top of the building and everyone has gotten one of those.”

“You hear that, Tony?” Gibbs called, “ _Everyone_.”

“I thought it was something from corporate,” The mailperson responded, eyes wide.

“Should I tell her to continue?” Gibbs asked Tony.

Tony shrugged miserably, “My dad probably got it before us. Fewer stairs in his mansion. He’s the one I was worried about. Besides, stopping the mail is a federal crime.”

“Okay,” Gibbs shrugged, “Go on, then. Deliver the mail.”

“If what’s in those packages is the same as the one that was on _my_ desk,” Jenny shouted angrily, “Then DiNozzo sending them out is sexual harassment and I will _have his badge!”_

“DiNozzo didn’t send those. We’re all being…” McGee’s eyes widened as he picked up the envelope on his desk and looked at the return address, “Tony, is this your handwriting?”

“Looks like it,” Tony sighed.

Ziva had snapped on gloves so she quickly took the photos from Jenny’s hands and gaped at them, “Oh my gods, Tony! I suspected but… I can’t believe you’re this… flexible.”

“That’s evidence,” Gibbs snarled, fumbling for gloves, “Stop the damn mailman.”

“Mailperson,” Ziva corrected, putting the photos down on his desk.

“Just stop her!” Gibbs snarled, “Then collect the rest! McGee find out where that call _really_ came from! Check DiNozzo’s phone and _don’t let him out of your sight_.”

Gibbs walked over to the elevator with the evidence in his gloved hands, intending on taking it down to Abby to have her search it over for prints. Tony might be playing it cool, but Gibbs was certain that he was terrified and hurting. Gibbs didn’t _mean_ to look. He wasn’t about to disrespect Tony like that. Except his _eyes_ wandered down, and once he caught a glimpse of flesh it was impossible not to _keep_ looking. The first picture was likely intended to be the most shocking.

It was a picture of Tony DiNozzo naked and gasping, eyes shut in pleasure, with a clearly masculine body stretched over him. The man had grey hair, nearly white, and he was clearly meant to be mistaken for Gibbs: the bait to keep them looking. It worked on Gibbs, and it probably had worked on Jenny. She’d thumbed through he whole batch of that he was sure. The next picture was even more explicit. Tony was on his stomach with a man thrusting into him, his face buried in the mattress. He was identifiable by his figure only. Gibbs hit the halt on the elevator so he could stare in awe at the man’s tight body. He’d looked good in the shower, but _this_! It was far too easy to imagine himself in place of the look-alike. The next picture showed Tony’s face again, but this time Gibbs’ stomach turned. He was on his side, the man behind him with his head resting on his hand, elbow propped up behind Tony. Gibbs could tell by the way they were relaxed against each other that they were moving slowly together. They were probably on round two. Tony was smiling, his head turned to the right in anticipation of a kiss as the man who was _decidedly not Gibbs_ leaned forward to taste his lips. Gibbs felt sick to his stomach. He stuffed the pictures back into the envelope, took a few deep breaths as his erection slowly wilted, and then hit the elevator button again.


	4. Chapter 4

There were so many envelopes that Abby had to have help going over them, and by the time she finished it was well past midnight. Tony was snoozing at Abby’s desk, apparently sleeping for the first time in a while, when his cell phone went off. Gibbs answered it because Tony was out so hard he didn’t even wake up.

“This is Tony’s Boss. He’s tired.”

“Is that what you call yourself?” A harsh voice growled.

“Who is this?”

“Anthony DiNozzo Senior,” The man snarled, “Put that bastard on the phone.”

“I’m the only bastard here,” Gibbs replied.

“I mean my _former son_ ,” DiNozzo Sr. shouted.

“You don’t want to do that, Mr. DiNozzo,” Gibbs replied.

“What the hell do you know?” He snarled, “Do you know what he did to me today?”

“I know what someone else did to him.”

“He mailed my _entire_ board of directors pictures of himself being _fucked_ in the _ass_ by a man! _My own flesh and blood!_ You tell that worthless piece of shit he’s out of the Will. He’s never going to see a dime of my money! Never! You hear me?”

“I hear you,” Gibbs replied, “Now you hear me. Tony is your only child, correct?”

“So?”

“So Tony tried to kill himself yesterday. Now, I know a thing or two about losing children and-”

“Worthless piece of shit can’t do anything right! Let me guess, he tried to hang himself like a pussy? Tell him to use his _damn_ gun! That’s what it’s there for!”

The call disconnected and Gibbs stared at the phone in shock and then tossed it to McGee, “Make it so that number can’t reach Tony every again.”

“On it Boss,” McGee replied, staggering away from the piles of letters. They were all exhausted and Gibbs felt a jolt of pain. He didn’t want them to be hurt.

“When you’re done that go home. You too, Abby.”

“Boss?” Abby asked, looking up at him with red-rimmed eyes.

“Get some sleep,” Gibbs ordered, then went into Abby’s office to wake up Tony.

“Come on, Tone,” Gibbs soothed, helping the exhausted man stand, “Time for bed.”

“Yours?”

“Sure,” Gibbs replied.

“I’m not gonna say no this time.”

“Damn right, you’re not,” Gibbs grumbled, “You’re going to hit it face first and go straight to sleep.”

“I’m gonna go _gay_ to sleep,” Tony giggled, then wiggled his fingers at Abby and McGee, “Toodles!”

“Oh great, just my luck. You get _flamboyant_ when you’re tired.”

“I’m just fooling, Boss,” Tony replied, leaning against the wall in the elevator with sudden levity, “McGee going to be able to block his number?”

Gibbs sighed, “So you were awake.”

“Didn’t want to answer it. I’m surprised it took him that long to call.”

“From what he said I gather he had to spend a few hours talking to his lawyers first,” Gibbs replied.

“Good,” Tony replied, shutting his eyes and letting his head fall back against the elevator wall, “It’s done then. No more forcing myself to go on dates with lesbian after lesbian in the hopes one of them will agree to closet-marry me and have my turkey-baster babies.”

“Turkey-baster?”

“You know,” Tony waved a hand tiredly, “That thing you use to make sure your turkey isn’t dry.”

“I deep fry my turkeys.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Tony chuckled, opening his eyes and giving Gibbs a tired smile, “It’s how gay people have babies without a doctor involved.”

“I’d gathered,” Gibbs tugged at Tony’s sleeve to get him moving out the door. They walked out the exit together in silence.

 

Sorry for the short chapter. I'm exhausted. 


	5. Chapter 5

Tony woke up in the morning and had a few blissful moments of not remembering how horrible his life was. He breathed in Gibbs’ scent and sighed happily, trying to recall how he got into sawdust-and-man-sweat heaven. He shifted but his ass didn’t ache. Maybe Gibbs had bottomed? Tony reached out for Gibbs and met cold blanket. He rolled over and reached again with the same results. He pried open his eyes and blinked at the surprisingly bright room. It was daytime. In fact, it was nearly noon. He’d missed work and Gibbs had-

Then the memories all came crashing back and this time Tony had no one to put on a brave face for. He rolled over, pressed his face into the comforting-scented mattress, and let the sobs tear through him. He couldn’t believe he’d lost everything. All those years of lying and hiding who he was in the hopes he’d get his inheritance and now he was never going to see a thing. It wasn’t just the money he was mourning; his father hadn’t allowed him to take so much as a _picture_ of his deceased mother with him when he’d left for school. He’d been so young when she’d died that it was as effective as his father withholding his very memories of the first- and indeed only- person who had ever shown him an ounce of affection. He’d had a few lovers over the years, but for the most part he had nothing and no one. His team was the closest he’d ever gotten to _anyone_ , and he was sure that they’d treat him differently now that they knew. He might not even be able to work there anymore. What would happen if they got a homophobic dispatcher on the line and they refused to send them back up? The whole team could die! He was a liability and he knew it.

The floorboards creaked and Tony sat up in a hurry, back to the door as he wiped at his face and sniffled angrily. The bed shifted and he felt Gibbs sit down behind him. He wrapped an arm around Tony’s waist and another around his shoulders from behind. Tony sagged back against Gibbs as the man just held him tightly, pressing a kiss to his temple and then leaving his mouth resting against the side of his head.

“Let it out,” Gibbs said softly, “It’s fine.”

“He’s got all my photos of my mom,” Tony choked out, “All her jewelry. Her china. It’s stupid, but I want _something_ of hers.”

“We’ll get you some. We’ll take him to court. I know a shit-ton of lawyers.”

“He’s got a fucking _army_ of lawyers.”

“I’ll break in and steal it,” Gibbs replied.

Tony laughed a bit, “That will get you killed.”

“Not scared of death.”

“What _does_ scare you?” Tony asked on a whim.

“Losing people I care about,” Gibbs replied softly, shocking Tony with his honesty.

“Kate,” Tony replied automatically.

“You,” Gibbs replied, “I almost lost you. Ducky said if you’d been in there for five more minutes you’d have stopped breathing. One more after that and your heart would have stopped. One after that and there would have been no bringing you back without brain damage. Two after that and no bringing you back at all. We were nine minutes from burying you when Palmer pulled you out.”

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispered.

“I want a promise, Tony.”

“Hm?” Tony asked.

“You ever, _ever_ think something’s so bad you have to die you come to me.”

“You heard her, she’d have gone after you if-“ Tony’s words were cut off by Gibbs squeezing him tight enough to cut off his air.

“Semper Fi, Tony!” He choked out, and Tony realized he was fighting back tears, “Someone goes after you they go after us all.”

Tony stilled and a moment of horror hit him. Gibbs loosened his grip, “What is it?”

“McGee. She threatened him. He’ll kill himself!”

Gibbs stopped Tony from rushing up, pulling him back against him, “Shhh, Ziva’s with McGee.”

“After you, McGee, and Ziva she’ll go after Ducky, Abby, Palmer…”

“We’ll stop her before that.”

“Yeah, but how many of our lives will she ruin?”

“Your life isn’t ruined,” Gibbs told him softly, “It’s just exposed and feelin’ a bit raw right now.”

Gibbs pressed another kiss to his temple, “What if they won’t send us back up?”

“What?”

“I know what the jock-club is like, Gibbs. I grew up in it. They don’t take kindly to having _faggots_ around.”

Gibbs leaned back and encouraged Tony to turn around. Once he had him sitting facing him on the bed he smacked him upside the head.

“You don’t use that word around me, Tony. You don’t use it _at all_. Got it?” Gibbs shouted angrily.

“Yeah, Boss. Sorry, Boss.”

“Now come on, we’re going to your place to pick up the pieces of your damn life and get you going again.”

“Yes, Boss,” Tony agreed, wiping at his face again.

“Use a damn tissue!” Gibbs hollered, from the hallway, “What kinda gay man wipes his nose on his arm?!”

Tony laughed as he followed Gibbs out the door, shaking his head in amusement.

XXX

Tony was expecting Gibbs to toss him into a routine to help him cope, but it turned out they were there to pick up just a few things to take back to Gibbs’ place. He wanted them all moving in pairs until their stalker was caught, just in case she turned violent on them. Tony grabbed a few essentials, several pairs of clean clothes, and stuffed them all in a suitcase. He turned around to find Gibbs standing in his bedroom staring down at his bed.

“You didn’t bring him here,” Gibbs stated, “This isn’t the room from the pictures.”

“Um… no,” Tony replied, swallowing uncomfortably, “No, we went back to his place.”

“Did you ever find out what he killed himself over?”

“No,” Tony replied, “I really didn’t know him that well. He picked me up at a club. He said he was shipping out the next morning and wanted to pop his gay-cherry. Apparently he’d never been with a guy.”

“He was _my_ age,” Gibbs said softly, shaking his head sadly, “You think he’d ever been with anyone?”

“Dunno. He wanted to experience it all, that’s for sure. They still throw guys out of the military for being gay?”

“Yeah,” Gibbs replied, “They keep trying to repeal it, but it’s not being fought hard enough. It’s not a dishonorable discharge, but it might as well be.”

“Maybe that’s why, then,” Tony replied.

“Never assume, Tony,” Gibbs replied, “Which brings me to my next question.”

“Okay,” Tony nodded.

Gibbs turned to face him, “Last time I’m asking this, and I mean it this time.”

“Yes,” Tony replied before Gibbs could ask, “Yes, I want you. Always have.”

“Good,” Gibbs nodded, stepping forward and slipping his hand around Tony’s waist to rest on his lower back.

Tony leaned in for that kiss he’d been dying for, but Gibbs shook his head and simply pressed their foreheads together, “You need to know something.”

“Okay,” Tony replied in frustration.

“I killed a man in Mexico. They’ll put me away for that.”

“Over my d-“

“Don’t you dare.”

“Sorry, Boss.”

“I want you to know that I may not be here at some point, so if you want to start this… we may not be able to finish it.”

“Well then,” Tony grinned, slipping his arms around Gibbs’ shoulders, “I wanna come first.”

Gibbs smiled and Tony leaned in to _finally_ get that kiss he’d been aching for. For a moment they were all lips and hands, Tony grasping at Gibbs’ body hungrily while the man slowly walked him towards his bed. Tony let him ease him down into the bed and laid there with his hands above his head, moaning as Gibbs’ hands roamed over his body. He’d known Gibbs would be the fierce type, and here the man was practically tearing his clothes off. Tony was being kissed, nipped, licked, and otherwise ravaged and he loved every second. He arched up into Gibbs’ mouth and pleaded for more as the man dragged his trousers and boxers off his hips and then crawled back up him, biting at the insides of his thighs. Tony was aching for more, his cock already rock hard and throbbing. Gibbs moved from inside his thighs to his bollocks and pressed his face against them, breathing in his scent and nuzzling him. The man’s nose pressed into his flesh and Tony groaned at the fizzling pleasure that worked up his spine. His cock twitched needily.

“You clean, Tony?” Gibbs asked.

“A-always use a condom,” Tony panted, “Bedside drawer.”

“Just answer the question, DiNozzo,” Gibbs growled.

“Yeah, I’m clean, Boss,” Tony panted, “I mean Jethro. I mean Boss. I mean… what do I mean?”

Gibbs chuckled as he kissed his way up Tony’s cock, “I think you can safely call me Jethro… in the bedroom.”

“Oh, fuck, that’s kinky,” Tony moaned, “How do you make first names kinky?”

“Say it,” Gibbs growled, hovering over the head of his cock.

“J-Jethro,” Tony whimpered.

Gibbs let out a growl of approval and then swallowed Tony’s cock down in one fell swoop, lathing his tongue around to moisten up his shaft and then sucking hard on the up swipe. Tony suddenly found himself unable to breathe, clawing at his bed as every fantasy he’d ever had played out in his head. When he finally managed to gasp in his breath Gibbs was working him fast and hard, his head bobbing up and down as the groaned so deeply around Tony’s cock that it was practically a long, drawn out, growl.

“J-Jethro… I appreciate the enthusiasm but… Fuck, I’m gonna blow so hard!”

Gibbs took in a breath and then swallowed him down to the root, his throat working Tony’s head as he swallowed repeatedly. Tony moaned long and low and then shook as Gibbs renewed his application of friction and suction with expert motions. Tony gave up any attempts to hold himself off and stiffened from head to toe as his orgasm rocketed through him. Gibbs worked his tongue along the underside of Tony’s cockhead until the man went limp beneath him.

“Oh wow,” Tony breathed, his hands shaking a bit as he panted hard, “Give me a sec-second and I’ll re-return the favor.”

Gibbs chuckled a bit as he climbed up Tony’s body. He was undoing his fly with one hand and Tony eagerly reached out to palm his erection. Gibbs was larger than he’d expected but he wasn’t about to let that stop his fantasies of bottoming for the older man. He’d adjust. Gibbs’ lips latched on to Tony’s and their tongues slid together as Gibbs moaned softly at Tony’s ministrations. He was soon resting his head on Tony’s shoulder as the man turned enough to give himself more leverage and work the hard, leaking shaft more thoroughly. He added a firm twist to his wrist and groaned in satisfaction as Gibbs’ breath hitched. Gibbs’ hips were thrusting into Tony’s hand and he could feel him swelling in impending completion. Tony moaned in satisfaction as hot fluids struck his torso.

“Damn, Tony!” Gibbs gasped, head jerking up and then falling back down to his shoulder as the man came hard across Tony’s body. He could feel him tensing and releasing as he thoroughly enjoyed his climax and was surprised to feel kisses pressed to his neck a moment later. Gibbs didn’t seem like the sort who continued to show affection once he came.

“Mm,” Tony hummed appreciatively, turning his head to catch another precious kiss. He had no idea how long this would last.

Gibbs pulled away and Tony sighed sadly, “I’m gonna get some tissues. Don’t move, gorgeous.”

“Don’t move _what?”_ Tony asked in shock.

Gibbs was halfway across the small bedroom already when he paused and glanced over his shoulder, “You heard me.”

Gibbs returned to a shocked and sated Tony and sat down beside him, gently wiping his body down of his fluids. He pressed a kiss over each nipple and then teased one.

“Oh, hell, don’t start what you can’t finish,” Tony groaned.

“Who says I can’t?” Gibbs growled.

Tony pressed his palms beneath Gibbs’ ears and pulled him up to capture his lips, kissing him deeply before whispering, “I love you.”

“Yeah,” Gibbs said softly, “Same, Tone. Same.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Jethro,” Jenny spoke so softly that for a moment he thought she was whispering, but then he realized she was just too terrified to speak louder.

“What happened?” Gibbs asked, crossing Shepard’s office in concern to grasp her trembling hand.

“What I’m about to tell you can’t leave this room,” Jenny whispered, tears starting up in her eyes.

“You’re being blackmailed,” Gibbs breathed, shaking his head in frustration, “Damn it, she’s moving fast.”

“You know who she is?” Jenny asked, hope blossoming in her eyes.

“Not yet,” Gibbs replied softly, “But I’m going to find out. I need you to promise me you’re not going to go killing yourself, Jenny.”

“Are you kidding?” Shepard’s moist eyes flashed with fire, “I will have her head on a platter.”

“She’s going after everyone, Jenny. We may end up with a full investigation of this department before we’re through.”

“Then I want more than her head,” Jennifer snarled.

“You’ll get it,” Gibbs promised, then turned and left her office.

Gibbs stepped into the squad room and stood up on top of his desk, “Hey! Listen up! I want to make one thing perfectly clear to everyone here! Don’t! Kill yourself! That is all!”

Gibbs dropped down and Tony gave him a bemused look from his desk.

“Sit rep!” Gibbs barked.

“I’m still taking apart he servers that she used to bounce her calls,” McGee stated, “From what I can tell it was set up before Tony tried to kill himself. That means she meant for us to trace the call and have it come from a dead co-workers desk. This is one sick individual boss.”

“Obviously. Ziva?” Gibbs asked.

“I have tracked down the individuals who are aware of the situation involving my birth,” Ziva stated, “One of them, a doctor in Tel Aviv, killed himself a week ago. I believe that Tony was not the only foothold she had into this office. She was headed here regardless.”

“You telling me she’s _global_?” Gibbs asked.

“We are, so why not?” McGee shrugged, “We might be looking at someone from literally anywhere. I checked on all of our cameras electronically but found nothing. With your permission I’m going to check on them manually.”

“Do it,” Gibbs grunted.

McGee hesitated, “Boss, just to be clear that would mean she’d physically _been_ in the building.”

“Do it!” Gibbs snarled, then headed to the elevator with Tony following after he sent him a motion to tag along.

“Tony?” Gibbs asked once they were in the elevator.

Tony flipped the switch, “My marine boy toy had a secret all right. He was married with kids. One of them is in politics. Looks pretty promising. The kid’s going to be a game changer some day. His laptop had gay porn on it, but it had all been erased. McGoo almost couldn’t recover it.”  

“Planted?”

“This man was deep in the closet, Boss. I had to show him how to finger me. He hadn’t even touched his own ass. There’s no way that gay porn is his.”

They stepped into Abby’s lab and Gibbs handed her the requisite Caf-Pow. Abby began talking a mile a minute about the laptop she’d been given until Gibbs cut her off.

“Where’d the porn come from, Abs?”

“Oh, you’re good,” Abby smiled, narrowing her eyes teasingly, “It was in a worm that someone planted on his computer. That same worm _erased_ it after our Gibbs-look-alike died.”

“So she planted evidence and then deleted it when he held up his end of the bargain, huh?” Gibbs sipped his coffee and gave it a considering look, “So how did she know he was gay if he was so deep in he didn’t know it himself?”

“She profiled him,” Tony said softly.

“We need to talk to Ducky,” Gibbs stated.

“If we do he’ll be in danger too!” Tony argued, “We’ve already put Abby at risk despite keeping her partly in the dark and…”

“Everyone’s at risk, Tony,” Gibbs growled, “They’ve gone after the Director.”

“Jenny?” Tony asked in alarm, “How…”

“Paris,” Gibbs growled, “She didn’t say it, but I’m betting that bitch knows what went down in Paris. Ziva all but confirmed it for me when she said Ms. North is transcontinental.”

“What if she gets Ducky deported?” Tony worried.

“He’s here legally, Tony,” Gibbs scoffed.

“Yeah, but there are ways to lose citizenship,” Tony ran his hands over his face, “This is all my fault.”

“You heard Ziva, she had more than one way in here than seeing your pretty face contorted in pleasure,” Gibbs replied, stepping out of the elevator and heading for Ducky.

Tony followed, but his pace was more sedate. He was staring at the wall of units and Gibbs kept half an eye on him as he spoke to Ducky.

“Hey, Duck. Need your help but it might put you in danger,” Gibbs told him calmly.

“Very well,” Ducky replied, sliding a unit shut, “What can I do for you, Jethro?”

“I’m being blackmailed. Tony already was. So is the rest of my team.”

“I assumed based on the pictures I received of Tony _in flagrante delicto,_ ” Ducky replied, giving Tony a sideways glance, “I assumed it was related to his attempted suicide, but when I saw you driving him home last night I assumed you had it covered. I take it his assailant is now after the rest of the team?”

“And others,” Gibbs nodded, “Wouldn’t be surprised if you already got a call.”

Ducky hesitated and then nodded, “Around six this morning, much to my disoriented alarm.”

“Don’t kill yourself,” Gibbs stated in an offhand manner.

“Well… I _am_ an old man, Jethro,” Ducky stated softly.

Gibbs sighed and pulled out his phone, “McGee, move your gear down here. You’re on detail keeping Ducky from offing himself.”

“Jethro, this is entirely-!”

“You, Donald Mallard,” Gibbs stated sharply after hanging up the cell phone, “Are responsible for keeping McGee from killing himself.”

Ducky paled, “Timothy is…”

“Also being threatened, yes,” Gibbs nodded.

“Oh dear,” Ducky replied, “I realized, of course, but… To think of him lying on the table the way Anthony was…”

“Yeah, or you could be,” Gibbs replied angrily, “Nobody kills themselves! You think you’re old now? Wait till you see how ancient you’ll be when I finally give you permission to die! Now I want to know more about that profiling course you’re taking.”

Ducky nodded and pulled out some of his material, discussing the ins and outs with Gibbs while he struggled to pay attention. They were just getting to the point where Gibbs was ready to storm out of the room in disgust when Tony let out a cry of excitement.

“That’s it!” Tony shouted, “That’s how we can get this crazy lady!”

“Yeah, by profiling her back, but how?!” Gibbs snarled, “None of this makes sense!”

“Sure it does,” Tony stated, but at Gibbs’ glare his smile became strained and he changed his tone of voice, “Not… to us… because we haven’t had the training that Ducky has.”

“Yeah,” Gibbs growled, “So sit your ass down and give him everything, and I mean _everything_ that you have on Ms. North.”

“On it, Boss,” Tony nodded quickly.

McGee came into autopsy pushing a cart full of equipment and Ducky told him where to set up.

“I understand we’ll be keeping each other alive,” Ducky stated softly, rubbing his hands together anxiously.

“Yeah,” McGee replied miserably, “I’m used to protecting my coworkers from each other, not from themselves.”

“Yes, well…” Ducky glanced around the morgue; “The thing is that this is the place to kill oneself if one were to try.”

“Well, let’s not try,” McGee smiled tightly, “And Tony’s not going to try again either, right Tony?”

“No reason to,” Tony replied with a shrug, “My secret’s out. My life’s going to be harder, but it’s also going to be better.”

“You mentioned she identifies herself as a serial killer?” Ducky asked, going back to his notes.

“Yeah,” Gibbs nodded, “Said she gets her rocks off by killing people without getting her hands dirty.”

“Then that explains her sudden escalation,” Ducky replied.

“How so?” Gibbs frowned.

“You defied her,” Ducky replied, “She didn’t wait the requisite 24 hours to send out her evidence and then hunt people down. She didn’t go after just _two_ of Tony’s friends, she went after all of _our_ friends as well.”

“Where’s Palmer?” Gibbs grunted.

Ducky paled, “I was hoping to avoid discussing that with you until after you finished the case.”

“He didn’t…” Gibbs asked.

Ducky shook his head, “He is alive. He and Agent Lee checked themselves into a mental health facility. I received their call on my way into work this morning.”

“They say why?” Gibbs asked.

“No, but I could find out,” Ducky replied, “I have a friend on the board.”

“Find out, but work on the profile first. We’re tracing _all_ of her victims in the hopes that we can find the original, but the new ones aren’t going to shed much light on the situation,” Gibbs replied.

“Ah!” Ducky beamed, “The first victim always gives us the most information! She likely knew them. If you can trace them back than we could figure out who she is!”

“Exactly,” Gibbs nodded firmly, turning to leave with Tony on his heels.

They got into the elevator and Gibbs waited a moment before flipping the switch. Tony waited patiently for him to begin to speak but Gibbs was shifting miserably from foot to foot and clearly struggling to find the right words.

“Well, this is weird,” Tony stated, eyebrows furrowed, “Normally I’m the one trying to figure out what to say to _not_ piss you off.”

“Not worried about pissing you off,” Gibbs replied, adjusting himself in his trousers.

“Are you… horny?” Tony tried, feeling himself blush for the first time in decades.

“Well, yeah,” Gibbs grumbled, as if that should have been obvious.

“Okay,” Tony replied, “Shall I…?”

Tony indicated the ground in front of Gibbs.

“If you want,” Gibbs nodded, still staring straight ahead and looking unreasonably uncomfortable for a man about to get off.

“Well, sure I _want_ to but… I mean… Is this a problem?” Tony asked in confusion.

“No. Not unless you _make_ it one,” Gibbs growled.

“How would I make it one, exactly?” Tony asked, glancing down at Gibbs’ crotch. He didn’t have an erection… yet.

“I dunno,” Gibbs grumbled, shifting about again and looking thoroughly uncomfortable, “Don’t want you to think I’m using you to get off.”

“I… I _want_ you to use me to get off,” Tony chuckled, “Especially if I get off too.”

“You know what I mean,” Gibbs growled, “Women are always going on about-“

“Not a woman,” Tony cut him off moving to stand in front of him and face him now that he knew what was going through Gibbs’ head, “Look at me, Jethro. I’m a guy. I think like you do… well, nobody thinks like you do, but you know what I mean. I’m not going to think you’re using _me_ for sex. I’m going to think you’re using my mouth. Or hand. Or ass. Or thighs. Mmm, that’s a thought. You got lube?”

Tony quirked an eyebrow and grinned and Gibbs started undoing his trousers.

“Takes too long and too messy. Later. Just get me off before I start yelling at people.”

“Wow, that’s how it works?” Tony grinned, “I would have sucked your cock ages ago.”

Tony dropped to his knees and opened his mouth, prompting Gibbs to struggle with his clothes faster as he went from horny to hard.

“All this damn stress,” Gibbs growled, “Worrying about everyone. Just want that _one thing_ coffee can’t give me.”

Tony winked and Gibbs slid the bottom of his cock along the tongue peaking out of his mouth, humming in appreciation. Tony wrapped his lips around Gibbs and began to make minute movements as he slathered up his cock with saliva. Gibbs was staring down at him so intently that Tony found he couldn’t look away. It was a similar stare to the one he gave suspects that he wanted to confess, no smile but a hell of a lot of power behind those blue eyes, but Tony didn’t feel like confessing. Tony felt like worshipping.

Tony moaned softly as he suckled on Gibbs, moving his tongue around the head of his cock as he pulled back before swallowing him down again. Gibbs was silent, intense, and absolutely absorbed in what Tony was doing. He let it continue for about a minute before a shudder went through him.

“I’d love to do this for another hour, but we need this over with fast,” Gibbs told him.

Tony was about to speed up, but Gibbs gripped his head in both hands and began to fuck his mouth. Tony relaxed his throat, expecting to be choked, but Gibbs wasn’t cruel to him. He gave him what he needed by sucking hard and working his tongue in waves. Gibbs moaned softly and then stilled as he came across Tony’s tongue. Tony swallowed his spunk down obediently and then smiled at him proudly. He adjusted his own erection and then stood up with a confident leer.

“Later?” Tony offered.

Gibbs nodded, “Yeah.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

“No, I’ll hold _you_ to it,” Gibbs grinned, “And against me.”

Gibbs hit the switch and Tony took a few steadying breaths to calm himself down. They stepped off the elevator in sync and headed for their desks. They worked seamlessly together, their motions that same comfortable that they’d known for so many years.

Mail time came and passed and they’d only tracked down sixty of her victims, and that wasn’t even beyond a shadow of a doubt. It was nearly closing time when Gibbs grumbled and then looked up at Tony with a significant glance.

“Mail’s late.”

“Mail was late three hours ago,” Tony replied.

“Burdened by all our evidence, I’m guessing.”

“Yeah,” Gibbs replied.

Half an hour later the mail arrived and Tony was silent as three envelopes were dropped on his desk. Four more on Gibbs’ desk. Tony stared down at him but didn’t feel the usual mischievous longing to open them. He didn’t want to know their secrets, or at least he didn’t want to find out in this way. He’d love to know what McGee was up to, and he’d like a personal tour through Ziva’s multiple genitals, and his longing to figure out who and why Gibbs had committed murder was palpable but…

“Not the evidence,” Gibbs stated, dropping all four open envelopes down on his desk. He’d opened them while Tony was musing, “Looks like Jenny collected it all. It’ll be down in evidence. Let’s go.”


	7. Chapter 7

Tony felt sick looking through the evidence… but that didn’t stop him from snickering at the pictures of McGee being tied up and spanked. Sadly, that was the only one that brought a smile to his face. The rest was downright alarming.

Ducky was mixed up with IRA protests, something he could still be charged for as people had died. Whose side he was on was unclear in the photos, and of course he wasn’t Irish so his birthplace wasn’t a clue.

Abigail’s evidence was a long list of abusive boyfriends who had clearly taken advantage of her. It would make her evidence questionable and frankly made her look mentally unstable. Gibbs took one look at the list and started writing down the names in his little notebook. Tony hoped he didn’t get caught killing them, especially after he saw Gibbs’ evidence.

Gibbs had, without a doubt, killed a man in Mexico, and it was clearly unsanctioned.

“Well, this is an enormous clusterfuck,” Tony stated, picking up Jenny’s evidence, “You made an unsanctioned kill and Director Shepard failed to make a sanctioned one.”

“That one I didn’t even know about,” Gibbs growled, “Her target must have gone underground. Can’t believe she fucked that up.”

“Some people have trouble killing in cold blood,” Tony shrugged, “Glad you’re not one of them boss. Sometimes people _have_ to go down.”

“That reminds me,” Gibbs grumbled, “Grab your gear. We have something to take care of before we start on this.”

“We have something to take care of before we deal with the terrifying evidence in front of us, which is probably being sent to others that we _can’t_ stop, along with the 24 hour limit on the next batch of victims?” Tony asked.

“Yeah,” Gibbs replied blandly, heading for the door, “Now grab your gear.”

“At least the suicide threat is over,” Tony sighed.

“Don’t bet on it,” Gibbs replied, “Some people might still go for it just because their lives have been ruined.”

Gibbs popped into Autopsy, “McGee! Find out where else all the evidence went. Abby’s lab has what you need to be looking for. Track it, collect it, destroy it. Then get back to finding Ms. North.”

“I’ve managed to find some info already boss if you want to-“

“Call me,” Gibbs replied, “I got someplace I need to be. And nobody breaks suicide watch duty! Check on Abby!”

“Um… okay…” McGee replied as Gibbs headed back out the door.

Tony followed him at a fast pace, wondering where they were headed that was so urgent it took precedence over the current case, especially since they hadn’t gotten a call about a body. They were soon at a metro station boarding a train for New York and Tony was beginning to feel sick to his stomach.

“Boss… I’m really not interested in some kind of family reunion or intervention or…”

“Neither am I,” Gibbs replied solidly.

“Okay… that’s good…” Tony worried as they boarded the train, “So we’re taking multiple trains to my old home town over an eight hour period to…”

Gibbs smiled and sat down in the seat, “You got nice eyes, Tony.”

“Oh, well, train sex _would_ be a fantastic way to occupy ourselves. It also explains the overnight carriage you chose to have me pay sextra for- I mean extra for.”

“You know, most people say thank you when they’re complimented,” Gibbs teased.

“Thank you, Boss. Your eyes are stunning, hypnotic, and haunt my dreams and masturbatory fantasies.”

“Thank you, Tony,” Gibbs nodded, his mouth twisted in amusement.

They shared a nervous laugh but descended into silence after that. Tony glanced around their cabin. It had a bench on one side and two beds on the other, stacked on top of each other. The bench was able to fold out into a bed as well. Above the bench was a storage rack and there was even a plug in the wall for charging things and a foldout table just beneath the window. Gibbs was sitting beside him with his ankle slung over his thigh and Tony was contemplating all the ways he wanted to worship the man, but he was also stressed about NY and knew asking questions would get him precisely nowhere.

“So,” Tony cleared his throat, “Are we sort of an item now? Friends with benefits? Boyfriends?”

“Nah, government doesn’t allow same sex insurance benefits. Damn shame, but you’re working with me so who cares?” Gibbs shrugged.

Tony’s eyes flickered from one side to the next, “I’m trying to figure out if you really misunderstood me or if you’re avoiding discussing a potential relationship.”

“Oh, we’re in a relationship,” Gibbs replied, “Thought that was obvious.”

“Okay,” Tony replied nodding slightly, “Good.”

“Exclusive?” Gibbs asked after a moment.

“Sure,” Tony replied.

“Doesn’t have to be,” Gibbs grumbled, “I know how you are. Won’t tie you down.”

“I don’t want… to…” Tony struggled. He didn’t want to tell Gibbs that he didn’t _want_ anyone else or he might scare the elusive man off, “Make you jealous. Let’s just play this by ear and if I feel like dating someone else I’ll be up front with you about it.”

“Sounds fair,” Gibbs nodded, “Now we’re under way how about we finish what we started in the elevator?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” Tony sighed in relief, going for his trousers.

“Now hold off, don’t rush it,” Gibbs growled, standing up and motioning to the bed, “I brought lube this time so I want more than a fumble.”

“Lube?” Tony’s eyes widened, “Gibbs is going to give me the D? I’m going to feel the Gibbs-“

“Stop before I shoot you,” Gibbs cut him off.

“Sorry Boss. I mean Jethro. I mean take me I’m yours.”

Gibbs chuckled as he drew back the sheets on the travel bed and motioned for Tony to lie down. The young man climbed in on hands and knees, recalculated his idea based on the bunk above him, rolled over, and put his hands behind his head to wink up at Gibbs.

“Like a bored puppy,” Gibbs grumbled.

Gibbs kneeled by the bed and slowly undressed Tony, stroking every inch of skin as it was revealed. He leaned down to kiss along Tony’s neck, watching the younger man arch for him in longing. He worked his way down Tony’s neck to his chest where he teased each nipple to a peak and then proceeded to twist them gently with his fingers. Tony responded with low grumbling moans of pleasure, eyes flickering up to Gibbs’ face and then falling shut again. Gibbs liked the way Tony was laid out for him. He glanced down at the well groomed thatch of hair above his jutting cock and reached down with one hand to run his fingers through it.

“I can shave or-“

“You’ll do no such thing,” Gibbs replied, “I want you shaved I’ll shave you myself.”

“That’s alarmingly sexy.”

Gibbs continued to rub along the thatch, fingers spreading to run along either side of the base of his cock. Tony rolled his hips in time with his movements as he ran his palm up and down Tony’s happy trail. He watched the man’s cock twitch with need and smiled at his movements. He turned his hand to the side on the next downward motion and moved down to the inside of his thigh, pushing it gently so that his knees fell apart.

Gibbs slicked up a few fingers once he had Tony pliant and began to quest between his thighs. Tony quickly lifted his knees, tucking his hand beneath the further thigh and lifting it to offer himself up. Gibbs grunted in approval and then stroked his pucker. Tony groaned and began to roll his hips, prompting Gibbs to slide his finger into his body. Gibbs’ smile widened. Tony was nice and tight, but he relaxed his muscles and opened up eagerly. He fingered him until he managed to get two inside and then pressed deeper into his body and curled his fingers.

“Aw, fuck,” Tony gasped as Gibbs effortlessly found his prostate and started sending sparks flying through his body.

“Yeah?” Gibbs smiled, “Another time. I wanna explore you first. Get to know your body inch by inch. Then when I do finally nail you to the bed you’re gonna scream my name for hours.”

“I can start screaming now if you’d like,” Tony panted, hips rolling faster as Gibbs worked his p-spot.

“Nah,” Gibbs shrugged, “More fun when it’s natural.”

Gibbs increased the pressure, moving his fingers faster despite the growing cramp in his hand. Tony was beginning to sweat and his cock was leaking a little puddle onto his belly.

“Boss? Jethro?” Tony whimpered, “I’d _really_ like to touch myself now. Or better yet, get some more of that mouth of yours. Or hands. Hands are good. Hands are _very_ good.”

“You’re gonna cum just like this, Tony,” Gibbs replied, running his free hand over Tony’s chest and tweaking his nipples, “ _Maybe_ I’ll give your dick a few bounces if you need it, but otherwise you’re going to spill it like a good little soldier right when I tell you to.”

Tony keened, arching off the bed as the pressure in his balls grew. He could feel himself approaching release but it was torture without anything to set off the nerves in his cock. He was panting with the effort to keep his hands over his head where he _knew_ Gibbs wanted them. Gibbs was smiling fondly and as he had promised he reached down and moved Tony’s cock, bouncing it up and down slightly. Tony hadn’t expected that to do a damn thing, but as it happened it set off a chain reaction in his body that started where Gibbs’ fingers were probing, then split in two directions to launch up the length of his dick while the other sensation traveled straight up to his eyeballs. Tony couldn’t even _breath_ let alone moan. His mouth fell open and his leg kicked out as his cock spurted across his belly. When what felt like a full minute of solid pleasure ended Tony took in a gasping breath, dropped his leg, and simply stared up at the bunk above him in absolute shock.

“Now _that’s_ ,” Gibbs grinned as he wiped off his hand on a paper towel, “How you fool around.”

XXX

Tony’s stomach tightened by degrees as they drove closer and closer to his father’s house in their rented pickup truck. It was late. Gibbs’ had to have requested the truck earlier in the day, but Tony had no idea why he would want a pick-up.

They turned the corner on the block his father lived on and pulled up to the house Tony had- mostly- grown up in. It had been redone over the years as his father’s money grew and his habit of blowing it lessened. Now it was rather posh for the area, but the man wasn’t about to move. He was sentimental. That was why he’d kept his dead wife’s things for so long. That was why he’d kept contact with his disappointing son. Now, those days were over and it showed all over the curb in front of his house.

Gibbs hopped out of the car while Tony stared at the pile of garbage with tears starting up in his eyes. He’d held it together since that morning, but now he was crying out of sheer happiness. Gibbs gave him a soft smile and nodded towards the heaps of garbage.

“I’ll keep a lookout and stop him if he comes down here to confront you. Whatever goes down you just keep piling your mom’s stuff into the truck. We’ll drive it back tonight.”

“How…?” Tony choked out.

“Had McGee find out which day was large parcel pick-up around here. Realized he’d be facing it while still mad, and had Abby get her friends to peek down here with a satalite. Saw all the stuff and figured he’d toss your mother’s things just to spite you.”

“Thank you,” Tony told him, “I’m gonna hug you now because there’s real garbage mixed with her things so you won’t want me to later.”

Gibbs chuckled and pulled Tony in for a tight hug; smacking his ass as he stepped away, “Go on.”

Tony grabbed the furniture first: a mirror and make-up stand with a matching stool all in cream, a high back chair, and a record player on legs. Then he dug into the boxes and pulled out pictures, most of which had broken glass but were in otherwise good shape. Next were the books and Tony choked when he found some of his childhood books, but swallowed down his tears so he could continue. He found a few items that were ruined beyond repair such as her needlepoint, but overall most of it was salvageable.

Then DiNozzo Sr showed up, storming out of his house in clear outrage and screaming about theft. Gibbs headed right to him with shoulder’s squared, but Tony wasn’t interested in watching the show. He wanted to finish up, so he ripped open the last few bags and frantically searched them. He found his mother’s silverware and a photo album that _might_ be saved, stuffed it all in the back, and then pulled the tarp over it and started tying it down. Gibbs had apparently handled DiNozzo Sr because the man was retreating into the house.

“What did you say to him?” Tony asked.

“Told him stuff on the curb is fair game and that if he wanted to get it he could go down there himself and fish it out. He didn’t care to,” Gibbs replied, “You stink. Let’s stop at a trucker’s rest stop and get you cleaned up.”

Tony sat in the cab next to Gibbs in silence, basking in the presence of the man who made his life complete while he drove them back to Virginia.


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs walked onto the floor with a cup of coffee in one hand and Tony’s hand in the other, leading the smiling man along with the occasional possessive glance.

“Sit-rep, McGee!” Gibbs snapped out.

“Ms North isn’t her real name,” McGee stated, standing up and cuing the large screen, “In fact she’s got several. She’s an internet hacker who has been underground since the nineties. She’s been involved with cyber protests and has been on the FBI watch list for years. They almost caught her in 2004 but she slipped through their fingers. The CIA also has a hand in the pot, but it looks like it’s for a minor issue. The problem is, no one can catch her. She’s got a soft side, though. One we may be able to exploit. She is part of an online community of grief counselors. Also, you’re holding hands with Tony.”

“Grief counselors?” Tony asked, frowning in surprise, “That seems out of character.

“Track her location,” Gibbs ordered.

“I can’t, boss. She’s good. In fact she’s fantastic. I can’t even get near her.”

“You’ve hacked _everyone_ ,” Gibbs snapped.

“With state of the art equipment,” McGee nodded, “She’s done it from a sticky keyboard in a McDonalds. By the way boss, you’re still kind of holding Tony’s hand. Thought you should be aware.”

“You feeling left out, McGee?” Gibbs asked him with a raised eyebrow.

“No,” McGee shook his head.

“Who’s on suicide watch?” Gibbs asked.

“Ducky is being kept company by the Director, Ziva is with Abby, and I’m up here alone but _not_ killing myself.”

“Good,” Gibbs nodded.

“Still holding Tony’s hand,” McGee pointed out, “Just saying, boss. Some people might-“

Gibbs pulled his hand out of Tony’s and grabbed his ass instead.

“Oo!” Tony yelped, grinning wide, “Thank you Boss, may I have another!”

“That better?” Gibbs asked.

“Minding my own business, Boss,” McGee replied.

“Good. Now _find her_!” Gibbs snapped.

“Boss, I really can’t,” McGee replied, chasing after him, “She’s a genius. I have no way to-“

The elevator doors shut and Gibbs sighed, releasing Tony’s ass.

“If he says he can’t-“ Tony said softly.

“He’ll try harder with me ignoring his protests.”

“Yeah, but if he _can’t_?” Tony asked.

“You let me worry about that,” Gibbs replied.

“Oh, no,” Tony shook his head, “I know I’ve been crying like a fourteen year old girl lately, but I’m a grown man. Give it to me straight, Boss.”

“Without an arrest on record to create some smoke and mirrors Abby’s out of a job, Ducky’ll be deported and tried for fuck-all, Sheppard will be demoted, and I’ll go to jail.”

“And I thought being gay was worth dying over,” Tony replied softly.

“You were protecting us, too,” Gibbs reminded him, leaning in to kiss his temple, “Let’s get on Abby and see what we can find.”

Abby had locked her ‘guard’ in her lab where she was snarling at someone over the phone in what sounded like Portuguese.

“Don’t worry, Gibbs,” Abby sighed, “She’s got 911 keyed into her phone. She’s taking this very seriously. In fact, I’m pretty sure she’s taking this _too_ seriously.”

“Not as seriously as I’m going to take your dating life once we catch Ms. North. Whatcha got?” Gibbs asked.

“Practically nothing,” Abby replied, “No finger prints, no DNA, the only thing we did find was a single hair lodged between a couple of pages of Director Sheppard’s evidence. No skin tag on it. Definitely dyed, like a few times over. I took a good look at it and found no drug use as of last week, but the rest was too degraded due to the dye to determine much else.”

“So we got nothing,” Gibbs huffed.

“Basically,” Abby replied miserably, “She’s smart, Gibbs. Like, creepy smart.”

Gibbs huffed in frustration and headed off to Autopsy with Tony trotting along behind him. They found Ducky washing up with his face tense. Gibbs approached silently and glanced over his reports until Ducky was ready to return. Shephard was standing guard over him, apparently having switched off with McGee who needed more space for his computers. She was on the phone talking in French so fast that Gibbs couldn’t catch all of it. He hoped she was successful.

“I hope you aren’t eager for results just yet, Jethro,” Ducky sighed.

“Give me whatever you got,” Gibbs replied, “We’re on a time table.”

“Yes, until the next batch of evidence comes forward,” Ducky sighed, “Is anyone else surprised that we haven’t been arrested yet?”

“Jenny’s waiting,” Gibbs replied, “She’s keeping them at bay until we can catch this bitch. So give her to me, Ducky. Nobody’s got anything.”

“Neither have I,” Ducky replied sadly, “I’ve got a suicide from first floor. No evidence, obviously. They had no contact with her. I’d check with McGee if I were you.”

“McGee hasn’t got squat,” Gibbs growled, “Neither has Abby.”

“Then we’ll have to wait on one of your miraculous gut instincts,” Ducky teased gently.

Gibbs grumbled angrily and turned sharply on his heel to storm off. Tony trotted behind him again, his hand slipping into Gibbs’ hand as they stepped out into the bullpen. McGee looked up just as they walked in and his face broke into a wide grin.

“I’ve got her boss!”

 

A/N Anyone recognize her yet? ;) I admit if you figure it out I'll be sad, but I still kinda want someone to guess. 


	9. Chapter 9

“She was running some complicated code, but I finally tracked it down and took it apart,” McGee crowed, “I found her online handle and I traced _that_. She’s living in a condo in Virginia, sending the address to our phones now.”

“No! Stop!” Gibbs shouted, bolting forward, “Did you send it?” 

“Well, yeah, but…”

The lights flickered. The computers went blank. The building shut down with a soft sigh and Gibbs swore angrily.

“She’s smart, McGee! She was watching!” Gibbs shouted.

“You cleaned out the computer but the _phones_ ,” Tony pointed out, waving his about in the air as a flashlight.

“She had them bugged!” McGee groaned, “They’re basically little computers! Stupid! Stupid!”

“Grab your gear! We’ll point fingers later!” Gibbs shouted, putting his phone to his ear, “Ziva! Outside now! Send Abby to Ducky! When this call ends we’re on radio silence, got it?”

XXX

The van flew through the streets with Ziva at the wheel as the craziest and by far the most terrifying driver. Gibbs had two reasons for putting her behind the wheel; she was fast and it gave him more time with Tony. Shit was about to go down and he was going to enjoy every second with the young man he loved.

Gibbs sat in the seat between the window and Tony and pulled the young man against him. Tony was too deep into kissing him to care about the way the van was moving. He clung to Gibbs with one hand and the door handle with the other. Gibbs ran his hands over the young man, just touching without purpose in order to memorize every inch of him. He wanted to know Tony’s body better than his own so he could have something to remember in prison. Or hell. Whichever happened.

Tony stroked his free hand through Gibbs hair and then down along his hip where he slid his arm behind him to plaster himself against him. Their tongues moved together until a bump made them bite down and they pulled away with a wince and a laugh. They went back to kissing, but more carefully this time. They stared into each other’s eyes, willing the other to know how they felt.

“I know,” Gibbs told him softly.

“I know you know,” Tony replied in a whisper, gripping his hip tightly.

Another bump slammed their foreheads together and Gibbs groaned while Tony gave his head a miserable shake. They settled for cuddling, Tony’s head safely on Gibbs’ shoulder. Ziva continued to drive like a maniac with McGee shouting in terror in the back seat. They pulled up to the apartment and piled out, Gibbs pulling his gun while Tony took off around the building to the fire escape. Ziva was hot on Tony’s tail while McGee followed Gibbs in. He shouted at the front desk, demanding to know where the exits were. McGee took off towards one while Gibbs shut down the elevator. They took the stairs up to the third floor.

A scream let out from the apartment and Gibbs went from trot to run, but when the door flew open he came face to face with Tony.

“Don’t shoot!” Tony shouted, coughing as he fled out into the hall. Smoke was billowing out of the apartment. Tony took a breath of clean air and turned to go back in after Ziva but Gibbs stopped him.

Ziva burst out of the doorway with gun raised and eyes blinking rapidly as she tried to see past her tears.

“Sit rep!” Gibbs barked.

“Trap!” Tony coughed.

“Tear gas,” Ziva wheezed, “She was not inside.”

“Shit,” Gibbs growled, “Spread out. Find her! She can’t have gone far!”

“I’ll take the roof,” Ziva panted, heading for the main stairs.

“I’m going back down,” Tony told him, heading in the same direction and hitting his shoulder on the doorjam as he went.

Gibbs took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and plunged into the room. He worked his way through beaded curtains and piles of clothes to find the window that Tony and Ziva had come in through and climb out onto the fire escape. He scrambled up to clean air before opening his eyes and taking a deep breath. Then he flew up them at top speed. His gut was telling him to hurry.

Gibbs got to the top of the fire escape and hurried up the last ladder to the roof. There he found the strangest, most peaceful scene he’d never expected. A beautiful, plump young woman with long curly black hair was standing on the ledge. She was Caucasian and dressed in a long lacy black dress with a tight leather corset over her torso. She was wearing a black vintage fascinator hat with a wide lace veil. When she heard him behind her she turned slightly and he lost his voice at the sight of a pale face with rosy cheeks, bright red lips, and happy, sparkling eyes. She didn’t look suicidal. She didn’t look homicidal. She looked sweet and innocent. She was holding a red clutch purse. Her black stiletto heels were discarded on the rooftop behind her. She gave him a flirty smile and a saucy wink. Then she jumped.

“No!” Gibbs shouted, but it was too late. He ran to the edge to see Tony running up to her body on the ground. He knelt there and then looked up at Gibbs, shaking his head slowly.

Gibbs sighed and stepped back from the ledge, turning to see Ziva as she burst through the doors with her gun drawn. Gibbs shook his head miserably.

“She jumped,” Gibbs replied, “Didn’t give me a chance to stop her.”

“Damn!” Ziva raged, “She took her own advice, but what about us!?”

“I don’t think she cared about us,” Gibbs replied, “We were just the first pawns to get this close to capturing the queen.”

 

_A/N I had another version where Ms. North yells “You’ll never take me alive, Coppers!” and Tony laughs at her movie quote, but it was too frivolous so I had to re-write it. Sadly, it did have a door-kicking scene I miss. Oh well._


	10. Chapter 10

They’d found McGee half an hour after the smoke cleared. Literally. He’d tried to follow Gibbs into her apartment and gotten lost before succumbing to the tear gas. Tony found him in her bedroom, curled up on the floor with a blanket over his head. They gave him some oxygen but the gas wasn’t overly harmful, just highly irritating. He still insisted on going through Ms. North’s computers and Gibbs wasn’t about to baby him. Unfortunately three hours later he hadn’t found anything.

“Nothing?” Ziva asked in awe.

“Nothing,” McGee confirmed, backing away from the damaged machines, “She must have been severely paranoid. Maybe Abby can find her via fingerprints, but as far as I’m concerned there is nothing in this apartment or on these computers to tell us who she was. Or prove what she tried to do.”

“Then we have no recourse,” Ziva replied, “Without the smoke and mirrors we could have made with some evidence we’re going to lose Gibbs, the director, and Ducky.”

“Gibbs will think of something,” Tony said softly, “I’d bet Ziva’s penis on it.”

“ _Half formed_ penis,” Ziva frowned.

“And your left nut.”

“Right,” Ziva huffed, “I had no left testicle.”

“Well if it makes any difference the top half developed _perfectly_ ,” Tony sneered.

“Not that you’d care,” Ziva smirked, “Being that you’re gayer than a musical about rent.”

“That’s a stereotype,” Tony stammered, “I’m a _masculine_ gay man.”

“Who takes it up the ass,” Gibbs announced as he walked into the room with a cup of coffee.

“Soon, I hope?” Tony purred.

“Ew,” Ziva stated firmly.

“Huh,” McGee replied, giving Tony a fascinated glance.

“What have we got, McGee?” Gibbs wondered.

“Spare parts,” McGee replied, “She had the trip wire you set off designed to trigger a small bomb that blew her computers to hell while spreading that damn tear gas everywhere. What wasn’t destroyed I plugged into my laptop, but she killed it with a virus… oh, and I need a new laptop.”

Gibbs pulled Tony against himself, “What you got, Tony?”

“Some prints, but not much else,” Tony sighed as Gibbs moved in to nuzzle his neck, “Maybe Abby can link her to some other crimes but otherwise… mmm, that’s nice.”

“Would you two like to get a bed?” Ziva scolded teasingly.

“Room, Ziva,” McGee corrected, “It’s room, and I think it’s sweet.”

“We’re enjoying the last vestiges of Gibbs’ freedom,” Tony replied, slipping his arms around the older man’s waist. They savored a long, slow kiss while the team moved around them.

“Well!” Ducky exclaimed as he walked into the room, “I was coming up to tell you we’d finished loading Ms. North, but I take it you’re indisposed at the moment.”

Gibbs sighed and disengaged a bit, “Anything I should know about, Duck?”

“Nothing of note,” Ducky replied sadly, “She shows some signs of having lived on the streets for a while, but I won’t know more until I get her on my table.”

“Okay,” Gibbs sighed, “Let’s wrap it up. Time to face the music.”

XXX

Gibbs took a deep breath before stepping into the director’s office where she was sitting across from a large black man. He gave Gibbs a careful glare and then turned back to Jenny and slowly got to his feet. He tugged on his jacket and gave her a polite nod.

“I’m glad we’ve gotten this all straightened out, Director Shephard,” He stated in a deep, grating voice, “In the future if you intend to use diversionary tactics to flush out a serial killer I’d prefer to be told.”

“Yes, of course Chief,” Jenny replied, getting to her feet and shaking his hand, “We won’t alarm you like that again.”

“You’d better not.”

The man walked past Gibbs and Tony, giving them an angry scowl, before leaving the office and slamming the door behind him.

“What was that all about?” Tony asked, but Gibbs was just smiling softly at Jenny.

“Okay?” Gibbs asked.

“Semper Fi,” Jenny said softly.

“Hoo ra!” Gibbs grunted, then turned sharply and tugged Tony out of the room.

“What just happened?” Tony asked.

“Jenny just manufactured us an excuse.”

“What?” Tony asked.

“She swept it under the rug. The big guys upstairs don’t want an investigation any more than we do. It would mean that every damn case Ducky and I had ever touched would get pulled. They’d likely not pass muster just because our character was being called into question. Prisoners would be released, then they’d sue for wrongful imprisonment, nobody wins. We aren’t crooked. Ducky’s done nothing wrong in the US. The kill I made was unsanctioned, but it was a drug dealer who was under investigation. They’ll keep a hell of a sharp eye on me us now, but they won’t push for an investigation.”

“So… you’re free?” Tony asked as Gibbs leaned against the elevator wall.

“Yup.”

Tony launched himself at Gibbs, barely waiting until the elevator door chimed shut before he pressed their bodies together. Gibbs gripped his ass, pulling him close, and devouring his lips. Gibbs enjoyed the slow roll of Tony’s hips as he began to grind against Gibbs’ body. The younger man groaned deeply and for a moment they simply let themselves drown in the warmth and scent of each other’s bodies. When they pulled apart a few minutes later Gibbs found himself smiling into Tony’s eyes.

“My place tonight,” Gibbs said softly.

“Yeah,” Tony replied with a happy sigh.

“Good. Now head back to the floor. I need to check on Abby.”

“Check on her?” Tony frowned, “Isn’t the danger over.”

“Most of it,” Gibbs replied mysteriously.

XXX

Abby sighed as she pulled the cooler open and stared down at the pale face on the table.

“Oh, honey,” Abby whimpered, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand, “I never thought it would come to this. I mean, when I saw you left your picture _in_ my evidence I thought I’d been wrong, that it just couldn’t be you, but it was. You really went too far this time. What happened to you? You were so sweet. So good. You cared so much… maybe too much.”

Abby leaned down and pressed a kiss to the dead woman’s forehead and then carefully wiped her lipstick off while sobbing miserably. Ducky was done the autopsy. He’d never find out. She slid the unit closed and walked away with her arms wrapped tight around her waist… and a necklace clutched in one hand. Gibbs held the door open for her and walked her back to her office with a supportive hand on the small of her back.

XXX

Tony walked into the living room in nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and Gibbs gave him an appreciative glance. Tony had slowly been moving into Gibbs’ house one box at a time, and they’d been continuing their slow sexual build. Some days they were too tired or a case took up too much time, so they hadn’t had as much time to be as intimate as they’d wanted.

Now they had the weekend off and Gibbs was going to bask in his young lover’s attention. Tony sank down on the couch and passed Gibbs a beer, smiling as they clinked the necks together. Tony snuggled closer and Gibbs wrapped an arm around him and cupped his softly clothed ass.

“You’ve got one hell of an ass,” Gibbs complemented.

“Don’t call yourself that, Jethro,” Tony scolded teasingly, “You’re a bastard, but you’re hardly an ass.”

Gibbs laughed, leaning in to catch his lips in a quick kiss. Tony was force-feeding him movies, but Gibbs was enjoying fondling the man during them so he wasn’t about to complain. He turned a bit so he could nuzzle at Tony’s neck while the man watched the movie. Gibbs was getting hard, so he stole Tony’s hand and set him to stroking Gibbs through his trousers.

“You’re wearing _way_ too many clothes,” Tony chuckled.

“Mm,” Gibbs agreed.

Tony turned and helped him strip his clothes off, running his hands over his chest and shoulders as they were revealed. Gibbs had thick, curly graying hair on his chest that Tony loved to run his fingers through. Once he had Gibbs’ trousers off he leaned forward to lick at a puckered nipple, enjoying Gibbs’ hum of pleasure as he planted his hands against the older man’s chest. Gibbs groaned and leaned forward, pushing against Tony’s hands until the younger man gave and let him stretch out over him.

“Tony,” Gibbs purred, breaking their kiss to move down his neck, “Want you.”

“Yes,” Tony breathed, “Always yes. Now and forever.”

“No, I mean I want _you_ ,” Gibbs growled, “I’m not waiting any longer.”

Tony’s breath hitched, but he didn’t reply out loud. Instead he lifted his legs to wrap them around Gibbs’ waist and rolled his hips in longing. Gibbs smiled into his eyes and flexed his abdomen, rubbing their cocks together through the two layers of fabric. Tony went limp beneath him, his body lax even as his cock strained against the fabric holding it back. His head lulled on the sofa arm and he smiled contentedly.

“Lazy,” Gibbs accused, but he knew that Tony would be ferocious one moment and a sleep fuck-toy the next. It was something that Gibbs enjoyed, because it was always a surprise when Tony switched it out on him to tackle him to the floor.

Today Tony was a limp boy-toy and Gibbs was happy to roll him over, maneuver his limbs, tug his underwear down to just beneath his full orbs, and spread his cheeks to smirk down at a bleached, hairless entrance. Tony had been paying a _lot_ of cosmetic attention to his asshole for the last few weeks in the hopes that Gibbs would push up his timetable and fuck him soon. It only made Gibbs hold off more because he loved to tease Tony. He wasn’t waiting any longer.

Gibbs knelt on the floor beside the couch and leaned down, spreading Tony’s cheeks and lapping at his hole. Tony whimpered and Gibbs kissed his entrance before beginning to press against his pucker. There was a moment of resistance and then the little orifice opened up and let him slide inside. Gibbs worked the muscles for a while, licking and prodding the tight ring, before leaning back to slide a spit-slicked digit into him. Tony groaned and rolled his hips up, one leg sliding off the couch and onto the floor. Gibbs smiled as he stroked up that muscled thigh to grip his ass firmly. Tony groaned and rolled his hips, unintentionally rubbing his prostated against Gibbs’ intruding finger. Gibbs smirked as the younger man whimpered and began to rub his hips up repetitively.

“You like that, Tony?” Gibbs asked.

“Yeah,” Tony sighed happily, “S’good.”

“You like that you’re gonna _love_ what I stick in there next.”

Tony groaned an affirmative and Gibbs pulled his fingers free and stood up. He headed for the bathroom to dig out some lube and returned to find his handsome lover had decided to go from lazy to assertive. Tony was kneeling on the couch with legs spread, leaning over the back of the couch and holding his cheeks open. He glanced over his shoulder and gave Gibbs a saucy wink before slapping one arsecheek and winking.

Gibbs growled hungrily and headed for him at a fast walk, opening the bottle and spilling it onto his hand.

Gibbs sat on the coffee table and leaned forward slicking up two fingers and sliding them inside as Tony spread his cheeks wide. The younger man groaned and then pressed his cheeks closed around Gibbs’ fingers, enjoying the feel of the friction against his sensitive nether flesh. Gibbs nudged him with his knuckles and Tony reluctantly released the trapped hand. Gibbs pumped his fingers, smiling as Tony’s body suckled at him hungrily. He spread his fingers and pulled them slowly out to watch the younger man’s ass gape. With a grin he lathered on more lube and pressed three digits into him.

“Oh, yeah,” Tony growled, pushing back. Gibbs’ eyes widened in excitement as Tony began to fuck himself on the older man’s fingers.

Gibbs worked the last of the lube over his cock and stood up, pulling his fingers free and ignoring Tony’s need whine. He knelt behind him, wiped his hand on the couch despite Tony’s disgusted grunt, and pressed himself slowly into Tony’s body. Gibbs groaned as Tony’s tight body swallowed him up, the muscles clenching once before welcoming him home. Gibbs groaned as he sank the last few inches into his body and felt their bollocks press together.

“Fucking hell, Tony,” Gibbs panted.

“Yeah,” Tony breathed, “Fill me up, Marine.”

Tony flexed his muscles teasingly and Gibbs let out a roar and pulled free, slamming into him. What followed was a punishing pace as Gibbs took his young lover fast and hard. Tony bounced against the back of the couch for a few thrusts before gripping the edge and beginning to move with him.

“That’s it,” Gibbs snarled, “Take it, Tony!”

“I can take _anything_ you can throw at me, Jethro,” Tony panted.

Gibbs responded by reaching around to palm the younger man’s hard cock, stroking him until he was full and throbbing. Tony moaned and angled his hips to beg for more. Gibbs began to stroke him in earnest, tossing him off as he pounded into Tony’s body. Tony was quickly overcome, letting out a soft cry as he came across the back of the couch.

Gibbs gripped the back of his head and pushed it down so he could fuck him straight without worrying about Tony being uncomfortable. He gripped one hip and let himself drown in the pleasure. Tony’s body sucked him in and tried to keep him with each pull out. Gibbs groaned and bit his lip, trying to hold off as long as he could. Tony broke his stride by clenching, a mischievous giggle giving him away a second before, but not with enough time for Gibbs to brace himself. The tight drag across the ridge of his cock as Tony’s muscles fluttered around his shaft left him gasping, and with one more thrust inside he was coming hard enough for the room to spin.

“Tony,” Gibbs sighed, hips twitching a couple more times before he slid free. He held Tony’s cheek aside and watched his muscles try to remember how to close. A bit of white trickled out before his body clamped shut and Gibbs gave him an approving smile.

“You weren’t doing me _that_ hard,” Tony chastised, “I’m fine.”

“I know you’re fine,” Gibbs replied, his tone implying a different meaning.

Tony smirked and stretched before heading for the shower, leaving Gibbs to clean up the mess on the couch. He gave it a wipe down with a damp cloth and then moved to the chair to relax. Tony came down a while later, skipped back to the part of the movie they’d gotten distracted at, and sat down in Gibbs’ lap, straddling his knees and leaning back against him with a sigh.

“Our beers got warm,” Tony whined, sipping his slowly.

“Never been to England? They serve em warm there. Well, actually it’s cellar temperature, but basically it’s not cold.”

”I’m Italian,” Tony grumbled.

“Oh, did you want a pale lager? You’re gonna have to haul your sticky ass to the corner store,” Gibbs chuckled.

“I’m good,” Tony laughed lightly, “Seriously though, Jethro… thank you.”

“For fucking your tight ass?” Gibbs wondered.

“No,” Tony replied with a contented sigh, “For letting me basically move into your home. For loving me despite me being a first class fuck-up. For being the man I needed in my life. Oh… and for fucking my tight ass.”

“Well, you’re welcome,” Gibbs replied, “For all of it but the last.”

“Why not the last?” Tony asked, passing Gibbs his beer from where it had been abandoned.

“Cause I enjoyed it more than you,” Gibbs replied, taking a sip and making a face, “This _is_ awful.”

“I beg to differ,” Tony scoffed.

“You like your beer warm?”

“I enjoyed it more than you.”

“How so?” Gibbs asked.

“I came first, I had my sweet spot stimulated _while_ getting my dick stroked, and I barely had to break a sweat!”

“You know what…” Gibbs considered, “You’re right.”

“Damn right I am,” Tony announced.

“So you’re not too tired to go fetch me cold one,” Gibbs replied, smacking his thigh.

“Oh, man!” Tony groaned, standing up and heading for the kitchen, “I can’t believe I fell for that. That was probie level.”

“You said it,” Gibbs chuckled, watching his pert ass walk to the kitchen.

Tony walked back and handed him the beer before sliding back into his lap facing forward and pressing a firm kiss to his lips, “I do love you, Jethro.”

“Love you too, Tony,” Gibbs replied with a soft smile, “Always will.”


End file.
